50) Pa-ta shan-jen (1624-1705). Hanging scroll; ink on satin; ca. 1690-91. Pa-ta shan-jen, also known by his rightful name of Chu Ta, is among the most daring, imaginative, and iconoclastic painters in Chinese history. A descendant of the Ming royal house, he lived in seclusion, if not virtual hiding, during the Ch ing dynasty, which conquered China in 1644 when Pa-ta was 19. Much of his prodigious output as a painter pokes fun at the pretensions of literati society and at himself. Using the traditional birds and flowers as his subjects, his birds show remarkably human features and live in a world that is incongruous, baffling, and often threatening. The realm of this scroll is unsettling, imbalanced, and unpredictable. Although Pa-ta shan-jen is among the most individualistic of Chinese painters, his work has some affinity to the Ch an painting of the late Sung in its use of monochrome washes, blotches, and minimalist representation. He was also a master calligrapher, and many of his works show a close correlation between text and image.